Steps to Mount Doom
by Ailsa89
Summary: This is Sam's account of the last few steps to Mount Doom. How he sees Frodo change and the constant presence of Gollum... now FINISHED (contains spoilers, non-slash- please review)
1. Chapter 1

As he struggled on beside me, I felt a shadow pass over me. Like.as if, oh, I don't know how to explain it. It was almost as if someone had passed through me. I shivered and it passed right up and down my spine. Frodo must've felt it too because he stopped and I felt him quake in my hand.  
  
"Did you feel that, Sam?" he said, voice dry. It sounded like peeling paint and it only reminded me of my own burning thirst.  
  
"Yes. But it's passed now, Mister Frodo. We're still safe."  
  
"I am not so sure, " said Frodo, "Perhaps. But I would like to get something between the mountain and me. It does not feel safe yet."  
  
I couldn't tell if he meant he felt something else. By then, I had no idea what terrible nightmares twisted in my master's mind. I wanted to keep going. Put as much distance behind us. But Frodo had never been wrong and a slight haze had come across his eyes. I could almost hear the ringing shriek in my ears as the darkness chased.  
  
"We'll hide," I said quickly, "In that groove under that small bramble over yonder. And then you can rest, master."  
  
I did not like to stop. If Gollum returned.well, I wasn't going to let it happen. For once, I scolded myself, you're going to keep yourself awake. The Gaffer always told me I was a right ninnyhammer and I may be nought better but I'll try to be a ninnyhammer that stays awake!  
  
We crouched beneath the thistles, waiting for something that never came. I managed to get Frodo to eat half of the waybread. I saved the rest. I thought that perhaps eating would slow my mind. And now was the time for me to stay alert. Mister Frodo went to sleep instantly. I fixed my eye on the horizon and waited. All my cooking stuff was gone. And the foul orc clothes, though they stank and were cruel to wear, had warmed me. But now we had nothing but our packs and the last of the bread. How long I could go without water I didn't know and as for Frodo, he looked as though he would break if a breath of air touched him. I flinched. There was a sound. A faint slapping and dragging. And long before he came into sight, I knew it was Gollum.  
  
"Yes, yes, we'll find it, my precious, " he muttered, Stinker rising once more, "It's here. We feels it. Yes, precious, we is close now."  
  
I sprang and fell on my face. Nothing but a fool! I groped about on the ground and felt something clutch at my wrist. This is it, I thought. I'll never be able to face Gollum again. Even with a blade I had failed. Oh why had Mister Frodo not killed the wretched creature before? So many chances and now.  
  
"Hush, Sam. He's gone. He did not see you."  
  
I strained my ears to hear over Frodo's gasping breaths. How he got to me so fast, I hadn't the faintest idea. The slap drag slap slap drag faded away as Gollum wandered out over the smoking plains, muttering away to himself.  
  
"Oh, Mister Frodo, " I whispered, "I thought that wretch had me then."  
  
"You were brave, Sam, " he replied, "But I am afraid bravery can no longer save us. Come, let us go on."  
  
And then where? I thought. Go on is easy to say. But to take that first step.I don't know how either of us managed to do it. With that choked landscape rolled out like a tongue before us. And Mount Doom looming up. A great roaring beast. I'll always hear it. No matter how silent the world outside. Mount Doom and that time is scorched into my mind. 


	2. Chapter 2

It felt like lead had been stamped into my feet. And cuts littered my arms. See? There's a couple still there now. And everywhere was blackness. Apart from the red blood and fire. I never hated somewhere so much. It was so bleak. The weight was far less of Frodo but of the evil. It suffocated you like wool almost. And I tried so hard to keep his spirits up.  
  
"Nearly there," I said through gritted teeth, "See, we're almost at the foot. We should make it by nightfall.if there is a nightfall here. I haven't yet seen the sun rise!" I tried to laugh but any attempt was sucked out of me. Flurries of breeze packed with ash and dust billowed into us and we had to stop, coughing and rubbing grit from our eyes. Frodo sank to his knees.  
  
"I can't, Sam. There's no hope. I'm too weak. Please, just let me sleep here, let me die here." And he gazed up at me with pleading eyes. There was so much in that look. But then behind them sat something deeper, darker. Not my master. What came from his mouth was only The Ring's cavernous voice. It was eating away at him. But I would not let it destroy him. I was never going to give up hope.  
  
"Mister Frodo, we will keep going. We have to reach Mount Doom and you know it. And you're the one, if you'll pardon the expression. It isn't me who's got to get there, it's you. And you know too. So up you come, Mister Frodo and let's be on our way with no more talk of no hope and suchlike."  
  
I'd never spoken to my master in such tones. But Frodo never even flinched. He stared at the ground for a long time, I suppose, letting what I'd said sink in. He stood up shakily and looked at me again.  
  
"You are right," he said. And together we struggled on, heads bent to the wind and eyes screwed shut. My master felt so frail. Like glass almost. That wasn't Mister Frodo. In fact, there was nothing of my master left. I felt grief begin to spill from my eyes but I gulped and forced it back down. Now was no time for lamenting and weeping for what we'd lost. Hope was still there. To cling to even a wisp of hope is enough for a dying man. 


	3. Chapter 3

We reached the slopes of Mount Doom when the world seemed to have died. Not a sprig of life grew among those black rocks. And it was black! Not grey or brown but pure black. I heard the rumble within it like some great monster. Like a great Balrog. I looked up instinctively and saw fire raining down from the mighty crater at the peak. A path drew up around the side, cut into the rock as if someone had bitten it. As my mind was occupied with the whole vastness of the mountain, Frodo let out a slight moan and dropped down beside me. He was twitching with spasms of pain. I fell to my knees beside him.  
  
"Master! What's wrong?"  
  
"Too tired," he managed to croak. Then he rolled over and closed his eyes. Not now, a voice in my head screamed, no, it can't be here! Thoughts rushed through my head. And at last I made up my mind.  
  
"I may not be able to carry It for you, but I can help. I said even if I had to carry you to the very Cracks of Doom I would. Now's the time."  
  
I assisted Frodo to his feet and then he scrambled onto my back. He weighed nothing. I couldn't believe it. So ravaged from wounds and weakened by starvation, it was no more than.well, than carrying little Elanor on my back.  
  
"Onwards, then," I said. I walked up to the pathway and started the arduous climb up. I could sense my every muscle and bone moving as I walked. I could feel my whole skeleton working to my movements. It was like watching myself from the side and each little screw and cog winding inside me. We went on for about two hours and my back began to grow taught from being bent for so long.  
  
"My precious! We have it! We haves it!"  
  
A sudden weight knocked Frodo from my arms and I toppled forward. There was a searing pain and the back of my hands tore open to blood on the sharp rocks beneath.  
  
"Gollum!" I shouted and struggled up to turn round. My master and that horrible creature were locked together, clawing and biting, rolling about. For one terrible moment I thought they would roll off into the abyss. But then Frodo stood victorious over Gollum, tall and proud, his chest heaving with exertion.  
  
"Never touch me again!" he bellowed. His voice was like thunder, ringing about the land, clear as bells. It resounded over and over. "Never!" His voice shook slightly with anger.  
  
"Save us, precious!" Gollum was weeping, "Spare us! Nice hobbit, nice bagginses. We be good!"  
  
I felt prickles in the back of my neck. My eyes were drawn to the horizon. It was all up! There it was, clear as day, clearer maybe in this wasteland, the eye. He had seen us. He was watching now and He was there. He was seeing straight to my master. Straight to the.  
  
"Frodo, go! Go now!"  
  
He turned to me and nodded. Gollum still cowered on the ledge, long fingers entwining his brow. He rocked back and forth, muttering piteously to himself. Frodo moved slowly and steadily up the path, head held high. I turned to face Gollum. His fingers parted and I saw a snarl form on his face. But something deep inside me was moving. Through all the panic, all the fear, something had changed in me. Gollum was worn thin, the outline of his skull visible through the bruised grey skin.  
  
And as I raised a fist to strike, I felt nothing behind it. There was no anger, just sorrow and.pity. It felt odd somehow. But I could not strike him.  
  
"Go back, Smeagol," I instructed him, "Go and live out the rest of your life here. That is punishment enough for anyone. Go quickly, while I'm in a good mood!"  
  
And when I next blinked, I saw him leave. Wordlessly making his way down. And then Gollum passed out of sight; gone. 


	4. Chapter 4

I paused a minute. I don't know why, just I, couldn't find the words to explain it in my head. Like being blind and trying to explain what it feels like. I didn't know why I let him go. Gollum, my worst enemy, who had betrayed my master to near death. All the times the beast had lead us into peril.  
  
And though my head was full of odd thoughts I still had Mister Frodo to worry about. I turned but he was already out of sight. I ran ahead to catch up with him. But as I spun round the bend, the empty path lay before me. Where was he?  
  
"Mister Frodo!" I called. My voice echoed a thousand times over. He couldn't have failed to hear it. But he didn't reply and there was no sound to say that he'd even heard me.  
  
"Frodo!" I shouted again, moving forward. My hands were throbbing with pain but I didn't want to look at them. The state I was in, I probably would have vomited over the mountainside.  
  
"Please, Frodo," I sobbed, "Frodo, where are you?"  
  
But it was all so empty and desolate. The path arced up like a cat and I clambered up a steep pebbled slope, raking cuts down my legs and sides. I hurt all over and my head was spinning from the increasing heat. I reached the shelf and stumbled to my feet, leaning on the wall. I was standing in the mountain, well, inside it. Within the very walls. And noise was just everywhere. Rumbling and crashing and light that streamed about me in wreaths. There was a tremendous explosion and I covered my eyes, blinking and coughing at the hail of dust thrown up. Laid out were the Cracks of Doom. A chasm so great and fathomless it was like a.like a.oh, I never could describe it. It was so terrible and yet so incredible. You couldn't tear your eyes away from it. And there stood Frodo, his old orc cloak flapping behind him and his face shining with perspiration. The expression on his face made me take a step back. There was no Frodo Baggins in him. The way he stood, the way he held It up, the way he glared down into the boiling lava far far below.  
  
"I will not destroy it," he yelled through the noise, "It is mine!" 


	5. Chapter 5

You could never imagine my terror as he slipped on the ring. It had all been in vain. Every step through that choked land. Over mountains. Days through forests. Stung, poisoned, broken, wounded, scarred beyond any thoughts. I couldn't believe what he had done! Mister Frodo was sacrificing himself to evil. After all that. All that!  
  
"No, please," I sobbed. But my words were nought more than slurs. I started to run forward, groping the air for my master. When a hiss struck up behind me. So close, right at my earhole, worse than a snake's or great lizards. For seconds I thought it had to be a geyser of some sort, throwing up its contents at my back. But I was suddenly knocked flat and something heavy rammed my head hard into the rocks. There was a crack behind my eyelids and the light flickered a moment. I struggled as the hissing went on in my ear. But the thumping in my head blurred the rest of the sounds and the buzz mingled with darkness and blinding colour and I was left in an empty room. I ran along a corridor filled with doors, opening each in turn. I came across a round hobbit-hole one. I tried the handle but it was locked. I turned to see a metal arched door. It had an eye welded into the face and flames curling up from it. In my fevered dream, I threw myself against it and fell heavily on earth again.  
  
"Frodo." I said drowsily and clambered to my feet. I didn't see my master but instead Gollum. He was fighting in mid-air, rolling about the mountainside and in the smoky air I could almost make out my friend's blazing eyes.  
  
"No, Mister Frodo!"  
  
Gollum's jaws opened, revealing fangs yellow as corn. He threw his head back, lank hair flying in a gust of burning wind.  
  
"It is ours!" he cried and his jaws came together. There was a piercing scream that echoed about the mountain chamber, resounding endlessly higher and higher to the crater at the top. I saw Frodo doubled up on the rock and I ran to him. What had Gollum done? He stirred and my heart stopped fluttering. Unlike someone else's.  
  
"My precious! We have it! It's ours!" Gollum screeched, prancing about the ledge. I saw it though. Before his sole touched the edge of the precipice. As a gurgle of flame erupted behind him, Gollum slipped on a pebble. "Precious, all ours! It's- It's -oooouuuuuurrsss..--!" He tumbled down in a hail of ash, wailing and clutching at the object locked amid his fingers. There was a gentle slop as the lava swallowed him up. I wrapped my arms around Frodo's limp form as fire lashed about us. The whole mountain shuddered. I stood upright and hauled Mister Frodo up beside me. Huge boulders were tumbling around us, splashing into the rising flames. Lava trickled over the ledge and another distant explosion rocked Mount Doom.  
  
"Come on, Mister Frodo," I grunted, "You've got to help me too."  
  
He made no reply and I quickened my pace, feeling the muscles twinge in my back.  
  
"Frodo?"  
  
He moaned and pressed his feet to the rock. As he raised his left hand, I saw with horror that the index finger was...well, not an index finger anymore. The one which had held the ring. Gollum had bitten it off! I could see the sweat coursing down his brow. He was in spasms of pain and kept gasping every other step.  
  
"Not far now. Come on, Mister Frodo. Please!"  
  
I looked back over my shoulder at the leaking flow of molten rock following us. A snake making its way, solemnly, carefully. As though relishing the terror it caused. Making its victims suffer slowly.  
  
"I-I'm trying, Sam," came Frodo's weak voice. I was so overjoyed to hear him speak that I failed to see the drop at the exit. We rolled down to lie panting at the bottom, staring up in horror at the desolation behind. Mount Doom was burning itself from the inside out. Blossoms of gold poured from the summit, sending sparks up for miles.  
  
I helped Frodo back down the way we'd climbed and onto a large shelf off from the main path. It overlooked all of Mordor, it seemed. It was cracking apart, the very land splitting and sending torrents of blackness gushing into it. Frodo let out a long sigh beside me. And he was there. My master, my best friend was real again. I held my hands out to his face and he clutched them in his.  
  
"So it is finished. I'm glad you're here with me. At the end of it all," he said.  
  
"Mister Frodo, it's all over now. It's too wonderful to be true!" I cried. We both hugged tight and to the rear of him I could already make out the lava seeping down the path.  
  
"But how do we escape?" I asked dolefully, withdrawing from Frodo's embrace. His expression was that of a man who has long made up his mind. He took in a shuddering breath and glanced behind at the oncoming flow. When he turned back, Frodo's eyes met mine directly, unflickering.  
  
"Sam, do you remember what I told you? 'If the ring is cast into the fire and we are at hand' This is what I feared. My friend of friends. The one thing that matters to me is that I'm not alone."  
  
His stern gaze did not frighten me, nor did his words. Just that I knew that I would never be alone again. And we'd done it! The quest was behind us.  
  
"Lie back, close your eyes Sam. Go to sleep and dream of The Shire," said Frodo calmly. His eyes were filled with tears and his hand gripped mine. I put my back to the mountainside. The rough stone grated my sides but I was too weary to care. Frodo lay down beside me with a sigh. I could already sense the heat approaching. The flames licking the stone.  
  
"Thank you, Sam," Frodo whispered, "I owe you everything."  
  
And I was so frightened at that moment. For Frodo. He had just been released from so much torment only to find this. And yet.yet, he sounded so calm, so determined. I closed my eyes and ears the destruction around me. There was peace. And there was Frodo and me, in an eternal embrace, soaring over black mountains on the wings of an eagle. 


End file.
